Quoted from FredZZZ:here is my testimonial : the corvair's vinyl have a good contrast, it's true. However it's not a real black diamond vinyl. In my opinion, the results are not the same as for the original black diamond.
I installed the corvair vinyl which improves the contrast. But I find that the rendering is too dark, and that this vinyl havent got a good looking on the playfield (the vinyl have a dark color). So i removed it. On the other hand, the real black diamond was showned by Dri on this forum : the look and feel is incredible (Take a look on his last video on twich, the vinyl have a grey purple color).
https://www.twitch.tv/dri374/video/650743194
The problem is that it is very difficult to find this vinyl. You have to go to screeninnovations.com, then contact a local reseller, then request a sample with a pretext like a project for your home cinema. This is a hard way because usually they dont sell a small surface kit like for our screen on the ST.
anyway, you can go with corvair or you can try to find the original vinyl and good luck to find it !
I also originally tried corvair’s vinyl. I did not see the same results that he did and posted long ago, either. His material is a vinyl that is utilized for other purposes, from what I can tell.
I had a friend in the industry get me large samples of Screen Innovations Black Diamond and also Stewart Filmscreen Firehawk G5. I also got this sample set off Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E9LMOC2
Firehawk and Black Diamond are completely comparable to one another. Both are dark gray and improve contrast and blacks a ton. The two gray screens in the sample pack are also very good, honestly. The lighter gray is better for brighter rooms than maybe any of them, honestly, but doesn’t offer the contrast or blacks improvement of the darker choices.
All told, if you don’t have access to the high end stuff, the Amazon samples are honestly just as good, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them and use them. They are vastly superior to the stock material. *Note* only replace the material on the screen, drop targets and stand up targets behind the drops. This stuff won’t help on the ramps or non-vertical surfaces.
I also bought and Used this corner cutter that someone earlier recommended (Small cut):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076FJ7SS